A reporter from another Inverness newspaper, the Northern Scot, asked Karl specific questions related to his journey biking around the world:
Reporter: “And have you done this long journey on the same cycle?”
Karl: “Yes,” he replied.
Reporter: “And have you had many punctures?”
Karl: “Yes”, he replied, “about two or three hundred, and I have worn down three sets of tires. I am now running my fourth.
The interview took place at the shop of Mr Miller, a chemist, where Karl called to get his book signed.
As previously shared in the Chronicles, Karl packed a small, leather-bound book to get stamped by the postmaster in each town to verify his travels. In addition, after arriving in Australia, he was given an “autograph book” for strangers he met along his journey to wish him well, write words of wisdom, and cite verses from the bible or lines from poems.
Upon meeting Karl and learning about his journey, those strangers quickly filled up the pages of his book. Here’s a sample, dear Reader of those messages from Inverness:
“May you live as long as you want and never want as long as you live.”
“Could we with ink the ocean fill and were the skies of parchment made, Were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade, To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry, Nor could the scroll contain the whole though stretched from sky to sky.”
“The stranger is gone–but he will not forget, When at home he shall talk of the toils he has known, To tell, with a sigh, what endearments he met, As he strayed by the waves of Scotland.”
“That Man to Man, the world o'er, Shall brothers be for a' that".
"He who has a thousand friends has not a friend to spare, and he who has one enemy will meet him everywhere".
“Hurrah for Creelman and his wheel auld Scotias sons greet thee. We sing in praise of Canada, the land of the brave and the free. When our empire was in danger, her sons proved ever true, their prowess on our battlefields, the Boers shall ever rue.”
And with his book filled up that little bit more, as published in the Inverness News, Karl headed to his next town:
“Mr Creelman will leave Inverness today for John O’Groats starting from the Station Square at 1:30pm. Mr Creelman is a quiet, unassuming fellow, only twenty-three years of age. He does not go in for “scorching”, preferring to wheel at his leisure on the route. Up to last night, he has cycled 12,065 miles and walked over 1500 miles.”
In case you’ve missed them, click here for more Karl Chronicles
The Karl Journey is now registered as an official expedition with the Royal Geographical Society